Three bungling Soviet diplomats aim to sell some Romanov diamonds to a Parisian jeweller to raise funds for the Soviet Union. Nina Ivanovna Yakushova, nicknamed "Ninotchka" (Garbo), an Ice Queen diplomat, is sent over to help them after they make a mess of it. In Paris, she meets and falls in love with Parisian boulevardier and aristocrat Leon d'Algout (Douglas). In this she finds herself rivaled by the diamonds' original owner, the Grand Duchess Swana (Ina Claire), who wishes to retrieve both the jewels and Leon's affections. Swana manipulates Ninotchka into abandoning Leon in order to keep the jewels for Russia. Leon, however, does not accept the situation...

Bela Lugosi has a small part as a Soviet commissar. It's one of the few non-horror films he ever appeared in, but he's still pretty creepy.

The story was later remade as the musical Silk Stockings, with music by Cole Porter, which was itself adapted into a 1957 MGM film with Fred Astaire and Cyd Charisse in the Douglas and Garbo parts, respectively.

This film provides examples of:

Bad Boss: Komissar Razinin is feared by pretty much all of his underlings, as he has the power to order deportations to Siberia.

The Great Politics Mess-Up: Before the film's release, World War II broke out and ruined the premise. Hence, there's a title card which rather artfully tells us that the movie takes place before the war.

Double Subverted, though, when she later tells Leon's butler: "Go to bed, Little Father — we want to be alone."

"Shut Up" Kiss: Played with: Leon gives a long speech about love, and Ninotchka replies, "You're very talkative." Except he's the one who plants one on her right after that. However, it's played straight when he's about to give another long speech about love a few seconds later, and she stops him by kissing him.

Third-Act Misunderstanding: Subverted. When Ninotchka wakes from her late night out, the jewels are gone and the first person to suspect is of course Leon. However, the trope is abandoned immediately with the Duchess revealing that The Butler Did It.

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